Several Novice Questions

[glenn71x]

I am still new to VCD/SVCD burning. I have a come a long way the last month thanks to this forum. It is a GREAT Resource. I have several questions left, any answers or even links to answers will be greatly appreciated!

1)I have converted a few DVDs to SVCDs using Easy VCD. The program is amazingly simplistic but I wonder if I can be getting better quality if I was using some other way. There is not that many options when using Easy VCD. Id like to be able to tinker with the Tmpg settings but I can not. Would using one of these KVCD templates I have read about produce better quality? I am not sure how to use this though. How do I get to the point of using tmpg? Meaning with easy vcd it rips then automatically starts tmp, what do I need to do, to get to tmpg manually and input my settings? I am trying to get the best quality possible with about 80 min or so on 1 cd. Is SVCD the way to go?

2)What are the advantages of downloading a divx encoded file as opposed to just an mpg? It seems the divx files are a real pain if you want to burn something to a VCD. Is it better to just download mpgs that are easily burnable? Is the divx quality worth the hassle? and if so, is it simple to convert it to an SVCD?

3)Some avi files of mine will not play, I get an error saying the audio is not recognized? "Audio Tag 353" Is this fixable, or should I just delete these files and not worry about it?

Thanks Everyone. This site is the greatest!

[glenn71x]

Oops, 1 other question.

When trying to burn an avi or divx file to a VCD, I know I have to convert in tmpg to an mpg correct? Most of the files will obviously need to be split because they are way to large. My question, do you split the divx file first? Then encode the 2 new files with tmpg? If so, how? OR can you encode the one large mpg file in Tmpg THEN split the resulting file into 2? Also, how? Thanks again.

[siyrobbo]

http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/mpg/avi2svcd.htm try this

avi files are (usually) a lot smaller then mpeg files and therfore quicker to download but it all depends what u r downloading and how well it was encoded. if you want the best quality it would be better to rip straight from your (legally owned) dvd using guides found on this website.

[ZippyP.]

An avi that will not play (either the audio or the video) is probably due to a codec problem. Get Gspot from the Tools section and test your file, it will tell the required codec and if it is installed.

Personally, I prefer to convert from avi rather than getting an Mpeg, I can produce much better quality. TMPGEnc has a function called Source Range which allows you to select which portion of the source file to encode to make an mpeg that is then sized to fill a disk. It also has a batch encode function so you can encode the entire film. So, no cutting or splitting at any time is required, it avoids lots of a/v sync problems.

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